


Slam Dunk

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 05:37:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20522822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: For their only two shows in 2019, All Time Low are set to headline the Slam Dunk festival. What could go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set in 2019.

“We’re finally playing a show again, I’m excited!” Jack exclaimed as he walked off the plane with his bandmates. All Time Low hadn’t played a show since December, and it was now May. After a little break, they were set to headline the Slam Dunk music festival in the UK. Everyone got a bit stir crazy about not performing together for so long, especially towards the end of their break. They all missed performing quite a bit, which made these shows even more exciting.   
“These shows are going to be great!” Rian added as the four of them walked over to the baggage claim. They’d just landed in London, and it was the day before the first day of the festival. They had the rest of that day to take it easy, then they had two days of shows, then they all had allotted a little over a week to go sightseeing and explore the UK together. They’d been looking forward to all of this since it was officially confirmed and booked about six months earlier. The four of them grabbed their bags, then walked outside of the airport to get in the car that was sent to pick them up.  
“I think we have a pretty good set, don’t you, Alex?” Zack asked Alex.  
“Yeah, for sure,” Alex replied with a yawn.  
“Are you tired, dude?” Rian asked, sounding a bit surprised.   
“A bit, I guess. I didn’t get enough sleep on that flight,” Alex replied.  
“Well, you’d better catch up some tonight, because we have an exciting two weeks ahead of us!” Jack exclaimed. Alex got into the front of the car, and the rest of the band all piled in the back together for the drive to the hotel. It wasn’t a very long drive which they all appreciated. It was about four in the afternoon, and they wanted to do some sightseeing that evening before having to be in work mode for two days. Once they arrived at the hotel, they checked in and got their room assignments. Jack and Alex would be sharing a room, while Rian and Zack shared another. Their crew and management had set that up for them when they’d arrived at the hotel a few hours earlier.   
“Let’s set our stuff in our rooms, then we can do some exploring,” Rian suggested. He received statements of agreement from everyone else before they all took the elevator up to the fifth floor.   
“See you guys in a few,” Jack said, opening up the door to his shared room with Alex.  
“I’ll take the bed by the window,” Alex said, before sneezing a couple of times.  
“Are you okay, man?” Jack asked his friend.  
“Yeah, I’m fine, just some dust,” Alex replied.  
“Okay, good. Are you ready to go?” Jack continued.  
“I think I might actually stay here and nap for a bit. I really didn’t sleep well on that plane, and I don’t want to be behind on sleep,” Alex explained.  
“Oh, okay, I think we’re going to eat around eight with all of us and our crew, do you want us to come here and get you so you can come with us? We can come around seven thirty,” Jack offered.  
“Sure, that’s cool. Sorry for bailing for right now,” Alex replied, crawling into the bed he claimed.  
“It’s alright man, get some rest if you need it. We have a busy couple of weeks. I’ll see you in a few hours,” Jack said, before walking out of the room. Alex did his best to try and get comfortable, but it seemed like no matter what he did, he just couldn’t. He pulled his blanket up to his chin, since he was feeling a bit chilly, and after having a little coughing fit, he drifted off to sleep.  
\----------  
“Hey, Alex, wake up,” Jack said, shaking his friend.   
“What do you want?” Alex groaned in reply.  
“It’s like seven thirty, I’m waking you up for dinner,” Jack replied.  
“Oh, right,” Alex replied, coughing a bit.  
“Are you alright, man?” Jack asked.  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alex replied, before sneezing.  
“Are you sick?” Jack continued, starting to feel concerned for his best friend.  
“No, I’m fine, let’s get going,” Alex replied, getting out of bed. He immediately felt a burst of cold air but did his best to ignore it. He changed clothes, then went downstairs with Jack. The band and crew got into a couple of cars, then went off to a restaurant. Even though the drive was fairly short, Alex felt his stomach twist a bit during it. When they got to the restaurant, they all walked inside and were sat down at a big table. A waiter took everyone’s order, then walked off. Alex wasn’t too hungry, so he’d just ordered a cup of soup. Everyone talked about how excited they were for the shows, and for the week of sightseeing that would follow. Alex was still a bit tired, and he contributed very little to the conversation. When their food came out, Alex had absolutely no appetite. He only ate about half of his bowl of soup before he decided that he didn’t want anymore of it. No one noticed this, since they were all busy with their own conversations. Alex was really happy when they finally left, because he was starting to feel pretty worn out again. once they got back to the hotel, everyone decided to go in their rooms for the night, since they all had a long day ahead of them.  
“What movie should we watch?” Jack asked Alex as he climbed into bed.  
“You can put on whatever you want, I’ll probably fall asleep pretty fast,” Alex replied.  
“Oh, okay, sleep well man,” Jack said, surprised by Alex’s answer. Jack put on a South Park episode for himself. Alex had been right; he fell asleep minutes after he shut his eyes.  
\-----------  
The next time that Alex woke up, it was dark, and he could hear Jack lightly snoring next to him. He was wet, which he quickly discovered was covered in his own sweat. He didn’t get why he was sweating, because he was absolutely freezing, and was shivering quite a bit. He pulled his blanket up closer to him, trying to get warm enough to fall back asleep. He started to feel a pain in his stomach that would not go away, no matter what he did. Suddenly, he felt his stomach lurch, and he knew that couldn’t be good. He got up and walked into the bathroom. Just seconds after sitting on the floor in front of the toilet, he started to get sick. He did his best to be quiet, because he didn’t want to wake up Jack. He knew that Jack would absolutely figure it out in the morning, but Alex didn’t want to bother him with it in the middle of the night. After about ten minutes, Alex decided that he was finished. After cleaning himself up a bit, he went back to bed. It was hard for him to get even partly comfortable, due to the aches in his body, but he eventually got comfortable enough and fell asleep.  
\----------  
“Alex, man, wake up, you have to get ready to go to the venue,” Jack said, trying to shake Alex awake.  
“Go away,” Alex replied, before bursting into a coughing fit.  
“You don’t sound too good,” Jack observed.  
“I don’t feel so great, either. I feel so sick,” Alex replied, hugging himself for warmth. Jack put his hand to Alex’s forehead.  
“You’re burning up, dude!” Jack exclaimed.  
“Not so loud, man,” Alex said, holding his head and wincing.   
“Sorry man. This is the worst time for you to get sick. We can’t really cancel this gig, since we’re the headliners,” Jack pointed out.  
“We’re not going to cancel. It’s a forty-minute set, I’ll make it through,” Alex replied.  
“Good, because you kind of have to. I hate to say this, but we have to be ready to leave for the venue in about ten minutes, so you need to get up,” Jack explained.  
“Great,” Alex replied, holding his stomach.  
“Do you feel like you’re going to be sick?” Jack asked, seeing what Alex was doing.  
“A bit, but I shouldn’t. I threw up last night,” Alex replied.  
“Why didn’t you wake me up so I could help you?” Jack continued.  
“I knew I’d need help today, so I didn’t want to bother you last night,” Alex replied.  
“It doesn’t bother me, you know that, Alex. We can have that talk later, though. You really need to get ready for right now,” Jack explained. Alex got out of bed and got ready as fast as he could. Once he was done, he grabbed a pack of tissues, and went down to the lobby with Jack. The other two were already down there, sitting at a table in the lobby.   
“What took you two so long?” Rian asked. Jack opened up his mouth to answer the question but was cut off by Alex breaking into another coughing fit.  
“That,” Jack finally said once Alex calmed down.  
“Shit, you sound bad, man,” Zack pointed out.  
“Thanks,” Alex replied sarcastically, blowing his nose.  
“It’s good we only have a forty-minute set,” Rian said, sounding a bit stressed.  
“That’s what I said. I think he ahs the flu,” Jack explained.  
“Did you throw up or anything?” Rian asked Alex.  
“Yeah, I did last night. I feel fucking awful,” Alex replied with a sneeze/  
“It sounds like it. Rest up as much as you can before our set,” Zack suggested.  
“I will, don’t worry. After, too,” Alex replied. Seconds later, the car pulled up, and they all got in. Alex sat between Rian and Jack and rested his head on Jack’s shoulder. Once they got to the venue, they did a quick soundcheck, making Alex’s throat feel worse. He couldn’t hit a lot of the notes that were normally no big deal to him, which made him frustrated. Once they were done, Rian, Zack and Jack went to go watch some of the other bands perform, and Alex rested in the trailer that served as their green room for the day. He ended up getting sick again, which made his throat hurt even more. The rest of the band all came back about thirty minutes before they were due onstage, and found Alex looking at something on his phone.  
“How’re you feeling?” Jack asked as the three of them sat with Alex.  
“Not much better. I got sick again,” Alex replied.  
“I’m sorry to hear that, man. I hope you’ll be alright for our set,” Rian said.  
“Me too,” Alex replied, blowing his nose.  
“You should start getting ready, we have to go on soon,” Zack pointed out. Alex got up and made himself as presentable as possible. Once he was as good as he was going to get, the four of them walked to the stage entrance. Jack noticed Alex looking a bit upset as he was tuning his guitar.  
“What’s up, man?” Jack asked his friend.  
“This is the only thing that we have booked for the whole year as of now, and of course I manage to get sick during it and ruin it,” Alex mumbled.   
“Alex, you didn’t ruin it, I promise,” Jack replied.  
“It’s time, you guys!” the stage tech called, making all of them walk out onstage. Jack wished that he could’ve comforted his friend more, but they had to do their job. Overall, the show was okay. The fans brought a lot of energy, which helped them get through it. It was clear that Alex was struggling a bit, but he pushed on through. Once they finished their ten songs, they thanked the crowd, and walked offstage.   
“That wasn’t too bad, man,” Rian told Alex once they were backstage.  
“Thanks,” Alex replied in a raspy voice.  
“You should get some rest,” Zack suggested.  
“Yeah, I think I will, I feel worse now,” Alex said, coughing some. It was obvious by his tone that Alex was upset that he couldn’t stay out and watch the other bands with his friends.  
“Do you want me to go with you?” Jack offered.  
“No, you should go have fun. I’ll be alright,” Alex decided.  
“If you’re sure,” Jack trailed off.  
“I am. You guys go have fun,” Alex replied.  
“Feel better, man,” Rian said, before Alex walked over to a car that would take him back to the hotel. Once he got back, he changed then climbed straight into his bed. His body hurt and felt cold, and he could tell that he was worse than he had been earlier that day. He sighed to himself, then drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time Alex woke up, it was to an annoying beeping sound.  
“What the fuck?” Alex asked with a groan. Jack quickly stirred awake and shut off the noise.  
“Sorry, dude, that was the alarm I set for us, so we’d leave on time,” Jack replied.  
“What time is it?” Alex asked with a cough.  
“It’s about seven, we have to be in the lobby to go to Hatfield by seven thirty,” Jack explained.  
“Oh okay, sounds good,” Alex said.  
“How’re you feeling?” Jack asked his friend.  
“Not great. My voice feels worse from yesterday,” Alex replied.  
“I’m sorry to hear that. At least after today, you’ll be able to get rest and focus on getting better,” Jack pointed out.  
“That’s true. But I still feel like I ruined it all since I got sick now of all times,” Alex stated.  
“Like I said last night, you didn’t ruin anything, Alex. It sucks that you got sick, but shit happens. The fans still loved our set, I don’t know if you’ve looked on Twitter, but everyone was raving about yesterday,” Jack explained.  
“Well, that does make me feel a bit better about everything. I still just can’t believe that I got sick during our only shows of the year. Like, what are the chances?” Alex continued.  
“It would only happen to you, man. Hey, we need to start getting ready to go. We’re going to the hotel in Hatfield from here, and it’s the one we’re going to be staying in until we leave to go back to America,” Jack explained.  
“Sounds good to me, dude,” Alex replied, before forcing himself out of bed. After about fifteen minutes, they were both ready to leave. Jack helped Alex carry his stuff downstairs, since Alex was feeling pretty weak. The rest of the band and crew were all in the lobby already. Alex and Jack walked over to Rian and Zack.  
“How’re you feeling, dude?” Zack asked Alex.  
“About the same, aside from my throat and voice. That feels worse than it did yesterday,” Alex explained.  
“Sorry to hear that, dude,” Zack replied.  
“Guys, it’s supposed to rain on and off today. Hopefully it doesn’t rain during our set,” Rian brought up.  
“Me too, that would fucking suck for me right now,” Alex replied.  
“Well, I hope it doesn’t, too,” Jack added.  
“Oh, looks like the car just got here,” Zack pointed out. They walked outside with their crew and went inside of the cars.  
“How long is the drive?” Alex asked as he snuggled into Jack.  
“I think it’s a bit less than four hours, which is why we had to get up so early,” Jack explained.  
“That’s such a long time,” Alex groaned. Normally, Alex didn’t mind the long distances that they had to drive, but he felt so miserable from his flu that four hours sounded unbearable.   
“You should just try to sleep for most of it. That’ll make it feel like it’s going by faster,” Jack suggested.  
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Do you mind if I stay like this on your shoulder then?” Alex asked.  
“Whatever makes you most comfortable, man,” Jack replied. Alex got as comfortable as he could in the crammed space, and eventually drifted off to sleep.  
\----------  
When Alex woke up next, they were still in the tiny car, and his head was still on Jack’s shoulder. Alex started to notice that his stomach was getting upset. He figured that it was due to being sick already, and because of the long drive. Alex sat up and held his stomach.   
“Hey, you’re awake!” Rian said.  
“How much longer until we’re there?” Alex asked quietly.  
“About thirty minutes. You’ve been asleep like that for about three hours,” Jack explained.  
“Great,” Alex replied, groaning from the pain in his stomach.  
“Are you okay, man?” Rian asked, noticing what his friend was doing. Alex just shook his head in reply, wrapping his arms tighter around his stomach.  
“Do you think you’re going to get sick?” Jack finally asked. Alex nodded, starting to gag some.  
“Oh shit, can we pull over for a minute?” Jack asked the driver. The driver didn’t reply, he just got off on the shoulder of the highway. Jack helped Alex out of the car, just in time for him to get sick on the side of the road. Jack grimaced, realizing how much pain his best friend must be in. He rubbed Alex’s back until he finally stopped.  
“That was awful,” Alex said, his voice sounding worse now.  
“It seemed like it. Do you think you’re good so we can keep driving? We might have something in the car for you to use next time, if you need it,” Jack remembered.  
“Let’s finish this drive, I want to get it over with,” Alex finally said. He got back in the car with Jack, and the drive continued. Alex’s stomach hurt for the rest of the drive, but he used all of his energy to not get sick again. Once they got to the hotel, Alex couldn’t have been happier. His stomach still felt pretty bad, but he was able to get some stomach relaxers out of his suitcase when he got to his hotel room that he was once again sharing with Jack. After taking the medicine, Alex got into his bed.  
“I wouldn’t get too comfortable, dude. We have to leave for the venue in about twenty minutes,” Jack stated.  
“Of course we do,” Alex mumbled in reply. He pulled out his phone, and took a look at the weather app. It was set to rain around five, which was of course when their set started. Alex hoped that the forecast was wrong, because playing in the rain would just make him feel so much worse. He looked at some other random stuff on his phone until they had to leave for the venue. The four of them got into a car and went to the venue. They started their soundcheck as soon as they got there. Alex’s voice was definitely worse than it was than it was the day before, the whole band and crew could tell.  
“Alex, you should go rest up in the trailer like you did yesterday. Try not to talk too much,” Rian suggested.  
“I will. You guys go have fun until our set,” Alex replied. There was a hint of sadness in his voice. He knew that he needed to rest since he was so unwell, and he definitely wanted to, but he wished that he could hang out with his friends in his band and in other bands.  
“You know what, I’ll go with you, Alex. I’ll see you guys around when we go on,” Jack said.  
“You don’t have to give up having fun to be with me,” Alex said with a cough.  
“No, I want to. We came here to headline this festival and have a great time, and you’re going to have a good time, too. It may not be what you anticipated, but you’re still going to enjoy your time some,” Jack explained.  
“Thanks man,” Alex said with a smile.  
“Sounds good, Jack. Be at the stage entrance five minutes before we’re due on,” Zack said, before walking away with Rian. Jack and Alex walked to the trailer behind the stage, and Jack set Alex up on the couch. They watched a couple of movies together until it was time for them to go onstage. Jack helped Alex get ready, then they walked over to Rian and Zack at the stage entrance.  
“It looks like it’s going to rain soon,” Jack said, looking at the sky.  
“Well, for Alex’s sake, hopefully it holds off until after our set is over,” Rian replied.  
“I hope so, too,” Alex added, sneezing.  
“It’s time for you guys!” the stage tech exclaimed. The four of them walked onstage and immediately started playing their first song. It was clear that Alex was struggling, but he managed to sound okay. About halfway through their set, Alex felt a drop of rain all on his head. He hoped that it wouldn’t pick up too much, but of course, he was wrong. It came down pretty hard for their last three songs, but the fans didn’t seem to care, so they finished out their whole set. By the time they were finished, the four of them were soaked, which made Alex’s chills much worse. Alex quickly handed off his guitar and started to hug himself for warmth.  
“Are you okay man?” Zack asked, already knowing the answer.  
“No, I’m freezing,” Alex replied through chattering teeth. His voice was much more worn down, and it was clear that he was miserable.  
“You should go back to the hotel and warm up and rest. You don’t want to make yourself worse than this,”  
“For sure. I’m gong back now, I’ll see you guys later,” Alex said with a cough. He hurried over to the cars that took the performers from the festival to their hotels and got in one. The drive to the hotel was fairly short, which Alex appreciated. He thanked the driver and went up to his room. He went straight into the bathroom and took a hot shower, then put on sweats and climbed into bed. He oddly enough wasn’t tired, so he decided to watch South Park for a bit. About thirty minutes later, he heard the lock in the door to his room being turned. His band walked in, with shopping bags in their hands.  
“What’re you guys doing here?” Alex asked, coughing a bit.  
“We wanted to help you have a fun night!” Jack exclaimed.  
“I appreciate that, but you guys should be having fun with the other bands at all of the cool afterparties, not stuck in this hotel room with my sick ass,” Alex replied, feeling surprised by all of this.  
“Those parties are only fun if it’s all four of us there. This will be a much more fun way for the three of us to spend our evening,” Jack said, making Alex smile.  
“Thanks, you guys, you’re all the best. What’s in the bags?” Alex asked.  
“Everything we could possibly need for our evening,” Zack answered.  
“Yeah, we’ve got some snacks for the three of us, and we got you some chicken noodle soup, crackers and more medicine,” Rian explained.  
“You guys really are the best. Do you all want to watch a movie?” Alex suggested.  
“Sure!” Jack replied. The three of them selected their snacks and gave Alex his soup. Jack got into the bed with Alex, and Zack and Rian shared Jack’s bed.  
“Thank you, guys, so much for all of this. It really made my day, and made me feel a little less miserable,” Alex said, as Jack put on the first Hangover movie.  
“Anything for the best lead singer there is!” Rian replied.  
“Yeah man, of course,” Zack added.  
“Yeah dude, we’re all brothers for life, that’ll never change,” Jack said. All of them smiled, then the movie started. Alex fell asleep not too long after finishing his soup, which made his bandmates happy since he clearly needed the rest. The other three ended up sleeping in there for the rest of the night, glad to spend time with Alex when he needed it the most.  
\---------  
The first few days of their trip, Alex was too unwell to go sightseeing, and stayed back at the hotel to rest up and focus on getting better. By the fourth day, Alex felt back to normal, and was back on his feet, and was finally able to go sightseeing with his friends. He felt so grateful for his bandmates who were also his best friends and was glad that they all had each other’s backs no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially the end of this story! I was going to wait and post this tomorrow, but I wanted to get it up today, so I can focus on getting new things written and typed up to post in the upcoming future. This is the longest piece I've ever published on here, and I hope everyone liked it!! Lots of love, Liv

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So, I wrote this story back in February, and meant to post around when SD actually happened in May, but it just never happened. I wasn't going to post this for a couple more days, but it is a two-parter, so I thought I'd put part one up today, and part two in a couple days! I hope you guys enjoyed this, and the next part will be up soon! Send in requests! Lots of love, Liv


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